FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          

Three Virtual Hearings Scheduled in April; DEIS Available on Project Website

BALTIMORE, MD (March 9, 2021) – The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) Maryland Transit Administration (MDOT MTA) today announced the schedule for three virtual public hearings in April for public comment on the environmental review of the private-sector Baltimore-Washington Superconducting Maglev (SCMAGLEV) Project. The hearings will be held virtually in consideration of COVID-19 protocols, and will provide an opportunity for the public to verbally comment on the SCMAGLEV Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).

The SCMAGLEV DEIS is available for public review online at bwmaglev.info. When the DEIS was officially released in January, the FRA and MDOT MTA indicated virtual public hearings would be announced at a later date. The virtual hearings have now been scheduled as follows:

• Tuesday, April 6, 2021 – 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Thursday, April 8, 2021 – 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Saturday, April 10, 2021 – 10 a.m. to Noon, and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

To sign up to provide live public testimony at one of the virtual hearings, go to bwmaglev.info. Those wishing to provide one-on-one testimony and/or listen to the live testimony during a hearing may call 1-855-450-1219. The public also can submit comments for the record at the project website, by email at [email protected] or by mail to SCMAGLEV Project, c/o Lauren Molesworth, Maryland Transit Administration, 6 Saint Paul St., Baltimore, MD 21202. For updates and to join the project mailing list, please visit bwmaglev.info.

The Baltimore-Washington SCMAGLEV is a private-sector project being proposed by Baltimore-Washington Rapid Rail (BWRR). FRA and MDOT MTA prepared a DEIS to study the potential environmental impacts of a new high-speed rail system. BWRR’s proposed SCMAGLEV system would operate between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore with a stop at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. 

On behalf of BWRR, MDOT’s responsibilities, in partnership with FRA, include: administering the federal grant funding to complete the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) study, prepare NEPA documentation, manage the DEIS public outreach process and perform preliminary engineering.

Media Contacts
Brittany Marshall
Office: 410-767-8367
Cell: 443-970-0424
[email protected]

Paul Shepard
Office: 410-767-3935
Cell: 443-622-4181
[email protected]

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